With the deadline for IESE less than a week away, we wanted to follow up this morning’s post about upcoming deadlines for international programs with some comments on the essay questions for that particular school.
The very focused questions and narrow word limits of IESE’s application present a fairly straightforward but challenging task. Due to the recurring two-year time frame of some questions and the generally pointed inquiries, it seems likely that viable topics will come immediately to the applicant’s mind (without extensive brainstorming and mulling over possibilities). At the same time, applicants will need to think carefully about the big picture their individual responses create, and make sure they share as much relevant information as they can in each short answer.
Essay 1: Please describe your short term professional goals (post MBA). (200 word limit)
Essay 2: Please describe your long term professional goals (post MBA). (200 word limit)
Our general advice about tackling the standard career goals essay applies to these questions, but their unique format should be taken into account as well; though the two responses should come together to form a coherent discussion (with a long-term goal that follows naturally from the short-term objective), it’s also a good idea to limit one’s remarks to the specific topic in question. This probably won’t be difficult given the restrictive word limits. One more thing to consider is that even though the program doesn’t explicitly ask about the reasons the applicant is seeking an MBA, it would be ideal to include a sentence or two about how the IESE education would provide preparation over both the short- and long-term.
Essay 3: Describe two substantial accomplishments and one failure in a professional or private endeavour. (600 word limit)
With its 600-word limit and three-topic prompt, this question is like Harvard’s second essay with a twist: the addition of a failure to the mix. Remember that because this will be the first response about your past experiences that the adcom will read, it will set the tone for the rest of your materials. It might be a good idea, then, to think carefully about what qualities, impact and lessons you would like to convey in this essay before deciding on topics for the remaining ones.
Essay 4: Describe a recent situation (within last two years) in which you used a contact from your network to achieve a personal or professional objective. (200 word limit)
This is an unusual question as far as MBA application essays go. It seems likely that the school is seeking to gauge the applicant’s interpersonal skills and ability to build and maintain connections, as these traits have obvious implications for the ongoing strength of the school’s alumni network. Without explicitly pointing to your value as a future alum (it’s often dangerous to make statements that make it sound like you assume you’ll be admitted), you’ll want to emphasize the qualities the school might be seeking in its graduates in sharing the details of your interaction in this situation.
Essay 5: Describe the most difficult project (personal or professional) that you have faced recently (within last two years). (200 word limit)
Because MBA students will no doubt face difficult tasks and interactions both during and after their time in the program, it makes sense for the adcom to be curious about how applicants respond to adversity. In addition to describing the nature of the challenges you faced on this project, you’ll obviously want to explain the steps you took to overcome them and end with a comment on the positive outcome.
Essay 6: Describe a recent situation (within last two years) in which it was difficult to convince others. (200 word limit)
This question is similar to MIT’s prompt about advocating for a position, and is another instance of the school using a past experience as an indication of current abilities and future behavior. Though you’ll no doubt have much to say in very few words, it would make sense to draw out the interpersonal elements of the situation and highlight the thought process behind the steps you took to convince others of the merits of your ideas.
Essay 7: I wish that the application had asked me… (200 word limit)
For some advice on how to navigate this kind of open ended question, see our thoughts on Kellogg’s Essay 4E.
Best of luck to everyone working to complete this application in the coming days!
